Council Candidates Face Off in Loker Debate

Over the click of pool balls and the din of students flying by, candidates for the presidency and vice presidency of the Undergraduate Council faced off yesterday in Loker Commons at the second of two debates before the polls close.

Students can vote for candidates and on two referenda--on decreasing the size of the council and increasing its funding--until midnight tomorrow night by typing ucvote at the fas% prompt.

In response to questions from the audience, this year's crop of candidates explained why they would be effective campus leaders and what they would do to make students at Harvard happier.

Fentrice D. Driskell '01 stressed that her cause celebre--the "Visions Project" and Harvard Census 2000--would clarify what, exactly, students wanted from their college experience.

"A lot of students don't feel connected to the community as a whole," she said. " They're in their own niche."

But Frank X. Leonard '01 disagreed with Driskell's platform, saying that her attempt to foster a single Harvard community is unrealistic and doesn't appeal to the student body at large.

"[Students at Harvard] have their own activities and their own interests," he said. "I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing, but it's a reality."

Leonard said his presidency would focus on "practical" community building events.

"I'm going to provide shuttles to athletic events so students support their teams. That makes communities. You don't need to talk about vision to go out and get it done," he said.

Sterling P. A. Darling '01 said he and his running mate, Nehal S. Patel '02, would try to get the administration to focus more on the lives of College students.

"What Nehal and I are really looking to do is focus the U.C., and the College, on undergraduates," he said.

Todd E. Plants '01 said a cornerstone of his campaign and that of his running mate Benjamin E. Wikler '03 is ending the "sink or swim" method of advising at Harvard.

"It could mean something as simple as a telephone call from your adviser every two weeks, checking to make sure that everything was okay," he said.

Outgoing council Vice President Kamil E. Redmond '00 asked the presidential candidates how they planned to lead the student body, not just the council.

Darling responded that he would change the structure of council debate to allow the president to take strong stands on issues during council meetings.

"What the U.C. needs to do is make sure its president is a student leader," he said.

Plants said the president needs to be visible on campus--going to plays and dances to set a social tone for the campus at large. He also questioned whether Darling would make an effective campus leader.

"Kamil asked about how he would be the student body president instead of the U.C. president, and all he mentioned was U.C. reform," Plants said.

Yesterday's 50-minute debate was the first time that candidates questioned each other's platforms and positions, and at least one candidate found the experience healthy for students and the campaign.

"When you get people who are entrenched in their beliefs, and then you question those beliefs things that were deeper in their platforms start to come out," Driskell said.

After the presidential debate, Loker emptied out, and the vice presidential contenders spoke to an audience of about eight people.

"I hope everyone out there, like, all five of you, will vote," said Katie E. Tenney '01.

The vice-presidential debate, which lasted only 25 minutes, had candidates clarifying the role that the vice president would assume if elected.

"You're right, the role of the vice president is very poorly defined," said Patel, in response to a question from Andre V. Moura '03, the Election Commission representative who moderated the debate.

Wikler said he would act as an intermediary to bring student groups and council members together to work on joint projects.

"Within the council, the vice president's job is mostly administrative--taking attendance. I can do that, I've had some experience with that in high school," he chuckled.

Tenney said she and Leonard sat down and worked out a role for her on council before she agreed to run--she will be in charge of lobbying council members to vote on particular bills.

"[When Leonard asked me to run], I asked him, 'what do I get out of it? Am I just going to tow your line?'" she said.

All of the vice presidential candidates said they would likely have a healthy working relationship with whoever won the presidential election.

"I really feel there's a lot of common ground on the council, despite all the infighting," Tenney said.